Honoring La’Shon Marshall

The headline matter-of-factly stated the horrific, incomprehensible news on Sunday.

“La’Shon Marshall killed in a triple murder with her young son and boyfriend.”

The article quotes her grieving sister Chanel, who remembers La’Shon as smart and funny and striving every day to make the world a better place for her precious 5-year-old son, Caleb. 

But La’Shon was not only striving to make the world better for Caleb. She was at the beginning of a journey to fight poverty that would have made the world a better place for all of us. A journey that has now been violently cut short by the senseless gun violence on our streets.

Just last September, La’Shon, a former resident of Covenant House Michigan, wrote a powerful essay, courageously sharing her lived experiences and advocating for the Child Tax Credit, which she said made such a positive impact on her life:

“My own early childhood was filled with trauma. After our mother left us, my father had to take care of all of us children. He did his best, but he didn't know how to access social services for us. When he got sick, we lost everything. We ended up living in a tent "village" under a bridge, where I had to cook for 50 people for the next seven years. I was just a child. 

“But eventually, I found help. At age 18 and on the run, I got a job at a homeless shelter called Covenant House and moved in there. They helped me get an ID and taught me about social services and how to get them. I never knew help existed for someone like me. I became a team leader there and my life started to change. Now I'm an advocate with a nonprofit called RESULTS, which trains and supports people to fight for policies that help families like mine survive and thrive. Along the way I've learned something really important: Many of us who grew up in abusive situations simply don't have access to mental health services, so we find ourselves in abusive relationships as adults. And many others who experience the trauma of poverty simply don't know how to get help. 

“Thanks to the Child Tax Credit, Caleb won't suffer the tremendous trauma that I did as a child. His life will be better. He'll have the love and economic support he needs to thrive. We are the wealthiest nation on earth, but too often we've abandoned our poorest children. But if we have the political will, we can make more smart economic choices like these to give all children a safe and secure childhood.”

As we grieve for La’Shon, for Caleb, and for Aaron Benson who was tragically murdered alongside them, this week Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib will remember and honor La’Shon in remarks from the House floor, a fitting tribute for a powerful advocate for change.

Lashon’s work to build a better and more equitable future for the country and the world will continue on, for all of us.